Tempest
by Seraph of Divinity
Summary: Two teams on a single field, playing to win the chance to be the world's best. The second FFI has come around, with Japan's national team, Neo Inazuma Japan, drastically changing its usual lineup. Keep on your toes and expect the unexpected. This tournament is much more than you'll ever bargain for.
1. Message - Part I

_**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Inazuma Eleven or Level-5. All I own are my OCs and their hissatsu techniques.

This is my first time writing a fanfiction like this, so I hope it turns out well. Before the story officially starts, I'd like to mention how I included a past OC of mine into the story. Some of you may recognize her from _Eternal Snow_, a romance fanfiction that I wrote. For those of you who have not read that fanfiction of mine, I've included some information on my female OC, Azumi, into the story so readers will not feel lost. Also, for those of you who do not know Japanese well, "kantoku" is the equivalent for "coach".

* * *

_Two teams on a single field, playing to win the chance to be the world's best. The second FFI has come around, with Japan's national team, Neo Inazuma Japan, drastically changing its usual lineup. Keep on your toes and expect the unexpected. This tournament is much more than you'll ever bargain for._

* * *

**__****_Friday, June 2. _****_10:29 AM._** Private Landing Area. Inazuma, Japan.

A lone man with dark violet hair stood waiting at a private landing area. He watched as an airplane finally swooped down from the sky and came to a stop on the ground, only opening his mouth to speak when two figures came out of the airplane and moved towards him. The figure to the right was that of a fifteen-year-old girl with vivid purple-gray eyes and dark raspberry red hair that came down to her waist. She wore a loose t-shirt with shorts. Her companion was a boy of the same age with gray hair and bluish-gray eyes who had on similar clothing. Both were carrying light luggage.

"It's nice to see you again, Kudou-kantoku! Can you believe that it's been three months already?" the girl greeted cheerfully as the man walked forward to meet with them. Known as Azumi Izuna, she used to be Raimon Junior High's ace soccer player before she graduated. Her wealthy parents had died in an accident when she was five, leaving behind an enormous fortune and the duty of taking over the family enterprise when she grew older.

Azumi was ten when she left Japan for America to oversee the companies her parents had used to own. Four years later, she returned to her home country to expand the Izuna business empire even further and enrolled herself into Raimon Junior High, where she met her childhood friend. Fubuki Shirou, the boy beside her and said childhood friend, offered a smile as a greeting to the coach. To be more exact, he had gone from being a childhood friend to her boyfriend within the past year.

"Yes, welcome back, Azumi, Fubuki. I hope you two thoroughly enjoyed your trip around the world because things are going to be busy for the both of you from here on out," Kudou told them. Azumi looked puzzled, as did her boyfriend.

"What do you mean, kantoku? I hope you didn't come to personally greet us just so you could give us some bad news," Shirou looked a little nervous.

"It's about the second Football Frontier International tournament," Kudou explained. "I want you two to come for a meeting tomorrow at Raimon Junior High's auditorium. Be there by eight in the morning." Understanding dawned on the couple's faces and they nodded. They had heard rumors of a second FFI while abroad, which had been confirmed just now by their coach.

"You could have just said so earlier then, kantoku! Will Endou and the others be there too?" Azumi hopefully asked. She was eager to see her friends after so long. Kudou's face darkened a little.

"No," he answered, a hint of regret in his voice. Azumi and Fubuki stared at him in confusion. "Endou and most of the others unfortunately got injured in a traffic accident a few days ago as they were all walking home together. Although their wounds aren't life endangering, their injuries will need at least a month or so to heal. They won't be able to participate in this year's FFI." Silence descended over the group at the news, but it was quickly broken as Shirou's bag dropped to the ground with a loud thud. He bent down to pick it up with shaking hands while his girlfriend's face paled.

"No way..." she whispered. Kudou stared back at her with sympathetic eyes. "How could that have happened right before we came back? Are... Are they okay? How do they feel about not being able to play in the upcoming tournament?"

"They were quite depressed the day after the accident occurred, but thanks to Endou's unwavering enthusiasm, they're feeling a lot better. They were also disappointed that they wouldn't be able to play in the FFI this year, but they told me to tell you two to play and win in their places," Kudou informed her. Azumi let out a sigh of relief. Everyone sounded like they were doing fine even with their new injuries.

"Kudou-kantoku, is anyone from Inazuma Japan able to come to the meeting? You said that most of them got injured, not all," Shirou had long since retrieved his fallen bag from the ground and was in higher spirits after hearing that Endou had managed to cheer everyone up.

"Yes, I did say that. Tachimukai and Kogure were among the few who came out of the accident unscathed, and I planned on inviting them to the meeting," Kudou nodded. "At any rate, don't forget to show up for the meeting tomorrow, all right?"

"Understood," Azumi and Shirou replied.

* * *

_At exactly two in the afternoon that same day, twenty kids in the country of Japan received the same message via phone or otherwise: "This is Kudou Michiya. Come to Raimon Junior High's auditorium tomorrow at eight in the morning. Do not be late."_

* * *

_**Inazuma General Hospital. Inazuma, Japan.**_

A familiar brown haired boy and his friend, a prankster with golden eyes, stared at their cellphones while their teammates peered at the glowing screens from behind their shoulders. Some of them stayed in their hospital beds, waiting patiently for the others to announce what the text message said.

"See? Kudou-kantoku invited you guys to the meeting for the second FFI after all," one of his friends grinned. "Congratulations, Tachimukai, Kogure!"

"Thanks, Endou! Kogure and I will make sure to pass the tryouts when they come around!" Tachimukai beamed in happiness as one by one, his friends called out encouraging words to the lucky duo.

* * *

**_Courtyard. Inazuma General Hospital. Inazuma, Japan._ **

Kabeyama Heigorou had never been happier. Tears sprang from his eyes as he clutched his cellphone with thick hands, almost breaking the fragile device by accident in his joy.

"S-Sakuma! W-We got invited this year too!" Kabeyama sobbed. The boy with cyan hair beside him bobbed his head up and down in a nod as he patted the larger boy's back.

"There, there, Kabeyama. There's no need to cry," Sakuma smiled a little. Despite his calm exterior, the boy was secretly feeling pleased about receiving an invitation to the meeting, though he did his best not to show it. A passion silently burned within him. It was the passion to fight in Kidou Yuuto's place and take the title of world's best again.

The hard work that Kidou and the rest of Inazuma Japan had put in for the possibility of a second FFI would not go in vain.

* * *

_**Rairaiken. Inazuma, Japan.**_

Cheering in a small noodle shop was a group of friends and acquaintances from a wide variety of schools. They had all met up for a get-together. Each of them was holding their own cell phone as they turned to hug and high-five each other with their free hands.

"Shadow, Kazuto, Kurimatsu, Mukata, Genda! We all made it!" a boy wearing a striped hat cried. A part of Raimon Junior High's soccer club, Matsuno Kuusuke was the one who had arranged the meeting between everyone. He jumped up and down with a grin as his friends started to cheer even louder.

"All right, enough cheering. Get over here and eat the ramen I made. It tastes best when it's nice and warm," a man wearing a purple bandanna appeared from behind the counter of the shop, beckoning the boys over with a chuckle.

"Okay, Hibiki-san!" the teenagers cried in unison. Hibiki watched them with a fond expression as they clambered back into their seats and talked excitedly among themselves. Seeing them so full of energy lifted his own spirits, and he found himself looking forward to the day of the representative match. Yet as he smiled to himself, he couldn't help but feel as if something terrible was going to happen sooner or later. Hibiki shook his head a little, trying to clear such troubling thoughts from his head. Kageyama was gone and so was Garshield. There was no more evil to taint soccer.

Still, he could not shake the heavy feeling of doubt from his heart.

* * *

**_Inazuma Cemetary. Inazuma, Japan._**

In another area of the same town, a fifteen-year-old boy stood in front of a gravestone with a bouquet of cypress flowers clenched tightly in his right hand. His one visible eye was a stormy gray while his other eye, his left one, was covered by a black eye patch. The boy's light skin was framed by sleek light brown hair that reached the bottom of his neck.

Himura Aoi was a soccer player fresh from America. He had moved back to his native country only the day before, but was already fitting right back into his hometown. He had not been surprised to see that little had changed in his absence.

Aoi stared at the gravestone in front of him with an expressionless face. The only sign of any emotion the boy might have felt was the visible shaking of the hand that held the flowers as he silently read the gravestone's inscription:

_Himura Yukito - The Blue Seer - Rest In Peace._

Eight years ago, his parents and brother had died in a fatal subway accident. Himura Yukito had been a talented soccer player with a promising future ahead of him before his untimely death. He had always been by Aoi's side to protect and guide him, yet he had died and left him alone in the end.

Aoi then moved to America to be placed under the care of his grandparents, but not before making a vow to carry on his older brother's wish of playing soccer with the world's best. It was a few days after his arrival in America when it happened. By 'it', he meant the curse. Sometimes he tried to trick himself into believing it was a gift and nothing more, but he continued to doubt himself. So he chose to call it both a gift and a curse until he could finally decide which it was.

On that fateful day in America, his left eye had gained the startling azure blue properties of his deceased brother's own eyes. The doctors never gave a reason for the odd phenomenon's occurrence, but he never cared to ask for a real answer. All that mattered was that his brother was with him, and even though his right eye had its benefits, he kept it covered at all times unless there was a rare day when he needed it. His right eye came with risks as well, and the effects of using it for too long were dangerous.

He forced his hand to stop shaking before leaning down to place the bouquet of flowers on the earth by the grave. As he straightened up from bending down, his phone rang. Aoi dug it out of his pocket and checked the text message he had received with an impassive face. After reading its contents, he put it back in its place before walking away. There was the slightest trace of a smile on his face. Himura Aoi understood what the text message meant. He could finally fulfill his brother's dream.

_I should have brought flowers of hope instead of mourning._

* * *

**_Marketplace. Inazuma, Japan._ **

"This is the life!" fifteen-year-old Akiyama Shou grinned. His dark purple eyes glowed with joy as he rode his bicycle through the streets of Inazuma Town, enjoying the feel of the wind against his tanned skin. His dark chocolate colored hair had been pulled back into a short ponytail like usual, trailing out several inches behind him in the air as he continued to pedal his bike. There was nothing the teenager liked more than to feel the wind.

Born and raised in Inazuma Town, Shou was a soccer player who had moved to America for a few years and returned the week after Raimon Junior High released its students to an extremely early, not to mention extended, summer vacation. His childhood friend, Himura Aoi, had also decided to come back to Japan much to Shou's delight, and he had eagerly gone over to greet him once he heard the news. The two had promised to hang out together sometime later in the day after Aoi finished some business in town. However, being too impatient to wait for Aoi any longer, Shou had decided to go out and look for him while at the same time enjoy his daily pedaling trip around the neighborhood. After riding on his bike and even going out for runs day after day, Shou had become accustomed to the wind and air, earning himself two nicknames as a proud soccer player: the Messenger of the Wind and the Tengu.

Shou almost looked like he was flying at the speed he was biking. One would think that it would be dangerous to ride so quickly through the narrow streets of the town marketplace, but not Shou. He somehow managed to zip along at a fast pace while controlling his bike so that he didn't bump into anyone or anything. As he went on his way through town, he called out cheerful greetings to the townspeople who warmly welcomed him back. A pleased smile worked his way onto his face at the sight of all the familiar faces. _Man, I really missed Inazuma Town and everyone in it._ He almost couldn't believe that three years had already passed.

Shou came to a stop by the end of the street, promptly hopping off of his bike for a short rest. He was stretching his arms out when he felt a sudden change in the air. In a single fluid-like motion, Shou quickly turned and plucked a paper airplane out of the air without batting an eye. He raised an eyebrow and stared at the object he held with puzzlement.

"Where did this come from?" Shou muttered. He looked up for a moment to find the person who had thrown it at him, but saw no one and looked back down. His eyebrows furrowed as he proceeded to examine the airplane some more, finally noticing pencil marks hidden by the folds. His curiosity piqued, he opened the paper airplane up and gazed at the message written on it. Shou's eyes scanned the scribbled words on the creased sheet of paper, only narrowing even further in confusion by the time he had finished. The mysterious message made no sense to him.

His eyes widened as it finally dawned on him.

Not too long ago, on the day of his flight back to Japan, his old soccer coach had told him about a possible upcoming tournament. He hadn't paid much attention to him back then, but his former coach's words now rang in his ears, capturing his full interest. Shou grinned to himself as he jumped back onto his bike and started to pedal, his lips curving into a broad smile. If it was as big of a tournament as he suspected, then there was a high chance that _they _would be there.

He would finally get to see that person again.

* * *

_**Sun Garden. Inazuma, Japan.**_

"Kurosawa Sai, get back here!" a fifteen-year-old boy with light skin and purple hair yelled. With vivid matching eyes that darkened in anger, he ran after another boy of the same age. Sai looked behind his shoulder to stick his tongue out at the boy behind him. He had called the other boy a brute just minutes before.

"Not happening, Shiki! You'll have to come and catch me yourself!" Sai playfully winked at the purple-haired boy, laughing as he shook a fist at him with a red face. Sai continued to run from him, easily making sure that the gap between them was always more than a few yards wide. His black hair tickled the back of his neck as he ran, his equally black eyes twinkling with amusement. Things were always so much more fun whenever Shiki was around.

Kurosawa Sai and Okamura Shiki were childhood friends - enemies, depending on whose view you looked at their relationship from - who had grown up in Inazuma Town's Sun Garden together. Neither of them could remember the parents who had abandoned them, nor did they want to. After all, their so-called parents had just left them behind without a second thought. If they had any parent figure in their lives, it was the manager of Sun Garden, a woman named Kira Hitomiko.

From the moment they had met as young children, Shiki and Sai had undeniably felt a hatred growing in their hearts for the other. Whereas Shiki chose to openly display his hatred in violent manners that were normal to him, Sai disguised his own hatred under the pretense of actually liking the other boy, while at the same making sure he let Shiki know how much he hated him by ruffling his feathers with witty comments. Their relationship had always been very strained. Even now the two still hated each other, though Sai was slowly beginning to have a better opinion of Shiki.

Despite their conflicting feelings, there were rare occasions when the two actually got along with each other as friends or mere rivals. It had only been a year and a half since Sai had started playing soccer, showing that he was a genius with a lot of potential. Shiki had quickly followed suit and taken up soccer himself in order to get stronger than Sai, also displaying amazing skills for the sport. Since then, the two had had countless matches, nearly all of them ending in draws. Each refused to give in to the other.

There was a unison of ringing as two cellphones beeped at the same time. Coming to a halt, Sai took out his phone and flipped it open, casually stepping to the side just as Shiki came up to punch his back. Sai smiled as his enemy swung his fist at empty air and lost his balance, landing face down on the ground as a result.

"You'll have to try better next time, Shiki!" Sai smirked and took off again, his eyes never leaving his cellphone screen as he ran. The text message he had received was strange, but he understood what it meant. Hitomiko had been saying something earlier that day about some big competition. Shiki had also finished reading what his own text message said, and got up to run after Sai once more. Both were thinking the same thing.

_It's another chance to outdo him._

* * *

**_Seraph of Divinity: _**That was the end of the first chapter, but it's only part one of the two chapters that will introduce the main characters. After the next chapter, it will get a lot more exciting, so please bear with all the introductions for now. Keep an eye out for future OC submission forms too, as I will be including more OC characters later on in the story. You'll get a chance to feature your very own OCs when the forms pop up.

Thanks for reading! c:


	2. Message - Part II

Here's the second chapter of the story. As a warning to younger readers, there is very minor language used in one of the sentences in this chapter. Don't worry, it won't make your eyes bleed. At any rate, please enjoy reading and consider submitting a review when you're done!

* * *

_Sixteen soccer players have already been nominated. Only six more candidates remain. But out of these twenty-two, who will shine brightest and take their place among the chosen representatives? The storm is only just stirring._

* * *

_**East Park. Tokyo, Japan.**_

Fifteen-year-old Raijin Arashi napped under the shade of a tree in Toyko's East Park, leaning against the bark in a comfortable position. The only thing that showed that he was just sleeping and not dead was the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he slept.

Raijin Arashi was his junior high school's star soccer player. At least, that was until he graduated, but he was quite sure that he would make a name for himself at the local high school too. His tousled dark brown hair blew around a little as the wind picked up, also blowing a leaf onto his face, but he didn't move. If anyone looked at that moment, they would see a peacefully sleeping boy with tanned skin and two gold earrings in his left ear.

He would not be sleeping in peace for long.

The next moment, his phone rang loudly. Ignoring the noise, the boy continued to nap with closed eyes. However, the phone continued ringing. Arashi's eye twitched as he waited for the phone's ringing to stop, only for it to sound again. Finally, as the phone rang for the fifth time, Arashi's eyes flew open and he grabbed the phone lying on the grass beside him with an angry scowl. His emerald green eyes glared at the glowing screen as he furiously tapped away on the phone. His inbox contained one new text message from an unregistered number. He opened it with a still furious expression, his eyes quickly passing over the message's contents.

"What the hell?" Arashi muttered after he finished reading the text message. "Why the heck do I have to go to Raimon Junior High?" A sudden realization struck him a moment later and a smirk crossed his face. The newspaper had been saying something about a second Football Frontier International, and he recalled that Japan's representative selection had yet to occur...

* * *

_**Higa Household. Tokyo, Japan.**_

Sprawled out on the couch of his living room without a care in the world was fourteen-year-old Higa Takumi. He simply sat there and stared up at the ceiling like he had for the past ten minutes, light gray eyes trained on the far corner of the ceiling. His white hair covered his left eye and caused it to itch a little, but he didn't even move to brush it aside.

Higa Takumi was a skilled soccer player, but a lazy one at that. He was rarely ever motivated to put his full effort into anything, even when playing his favorite sport. The boy just didn't feel like it was necessary to put his whole heart into anything. As such, he was often times called a lazy bum by his acquaintances, not that he ever cared.

His cellphone rang from the side table, but he remained as still as a statue. Thoughts of a certain girl occupied his entire head, rendering him unable to focus on anything else.

Izuna Azumi was his idol. The fifteen-year-old girl had captured his heart from the very moment he had seen her play on television. She had captivated him with her skills and beauty, immediately causing him to become a die-hard fan. From that point on, Takumi had made it his job to watch every single match of hers and support her from behind the scenes. His greatest dream was to be able to meet Azumi someday and play alongside her, though that seemed unlikely. She was probably the only person who could motivate him to do something, just as long as she was involved herself.

Takumi's cellphone rang again. His eyes wandered from the ceiling to the electronic device, and sighing, he slowly reached out to take it. He frowned at the 'unregistered number' that filled the screen, but thinking nothing of it, answered the call anyways. _Might as well get it over with._

"Hello?" Takumi muttered in a bored tone of voice. He wanted nothing more than to shut the phone, but he supposed that would be rude of him.

_"Is this Higa Takumi?" _a deep voice asked from the other end. The boy guessed that it belonged to a man past his twenties.

"Yes. Who is this?"

_"This is Kudou Michiya. Come to Raimon Junior High's auditorium at eight in the morning tomorrow and do not be late," _the voice spoke, and before Takumi could open his mouth to protest, the man continued. _"Oh, and I almost forgot to mention this, but Izuna Azumi will be there too." _The call was cut. Takumi lowered the phone with a shaking hand, hardly daring to believe what he had just heard. It didn't matter to him that one of Japan's most well-known coaches had called him, or that he had been invited to the school with Japan's number one soccer team for something. Only two words out of the entire and rather short conversation he had just had mattered to him.

_Izuna Azumi._

He was going to meet his idol. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Takumi jumped out of his seat and threw his arms into the air, cheering loudly. With sparkling eyes, the boy raced around the house in a mad dash to find his soccer ball. There was a lot of training to be done.

Especially if he wanted to impress Izuna Azumi.

* * *

_**Blackwood Forest. Mt. Fuji, Japan.**_

A fourteen-year-old boy with dark green hair sat at the base of a tree with crossed legs. There was a blindfold over his eyes as he breathed deeply in and out for a few moments. Then, without any hint of his next action, the boy stood up and drew a short wooden stick from his tool belt right as a leaf fell from the branch above him. There was a quick blur of motion and then all was still, save for the fluttering of the leaf as it landed on the ground. It had a recently made hole in the center of it. Smiling, the boy tossed the stick to the ground and untied his blindfold, revealing green eyes that twinkled as they found the leaf on the forest floor.

Teruya Hideki played soccer. His parents were almost always busy with work overseas, but he didn't mind. He had grown up in the countryside with his grandfather and preferred to practice in the wilderness, where he could hear the wildlife and be surrounded by the lush vegetation. His grandfather had taught him many things about nature, and somewhere along the way, was the one who had taught him to play soccer. Hideki's grandfather had explained to him that because of soccer, he had met his grandmother. It was also how Hideki's mother had met his father, who back then had been a soccer player himself.

Soccer connected people. So when Hideki played soccer, he felt like he could somehow connect to his distant parents, who were away in a country far off from Japan. Maybe that's why he liked it so much.

There was a quiet buzzing sound from the ground below. It was coming from his cellphone. Hideki grabbed the device as he sat down and opened it, wondering who on earth had sent him a text message. His grandfather didn't even own a phone, saying how technology was too hard to figure out. Chuckling a little at the image of a scowling grandfather with a phone in hand, Hideki opened the text message he had received and began to read. When he finished, there was a look of intrigue on his face.

Kudou Michiya was one of Japan's most famous soccer coaches. He had led Japan's national team to victory last year in the first ever Football Frontier International. That same coach had sent him a text message, which meant...

"Interesting," Hideki murmured. He snapped his phone shut, wearing a thoughtful expression. If he was right, then he was going to have a chance to be a part of something big.

Something big enough that would have a chance of spreading to where his parents were.

* * *

_**Riverbank. Inazuma, Japan.**_

Exhausted from an entire hour of practice, a fifteen-year-old boy stood panting on a soccer field. He faced the goalpost with narrowed teal eyes, the ground around his feet littered with battered soccer balls. Orange hair was plastered to his fair skin and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. Despite how completely worn out he looked, one could still say how undeniably handsome he was.

Tachibana Ryuu was, by normal standards, a very good-looking guy, which was probably due to the fact that both of his parents had also been blessed with beautiful features. His mother was a fashion designer who had once been a model in her younger days. His father, however, was an actor, and an extremely popular one at that. Ryuu had grown up with everything anyone would ever desire: a happy family, wealth, and fame. Yet there was one thing he wanted but never had.

Friends.

People would only approach him for the money his family had. Otherwise, they stayed away because of his status, too afraid to talk to a rich kid with powerful parents. As a result, Ryuu had grown up as a lonely boy, but he had learned to conceal it behind a fake mask of cheerfulness. No one ever noticed, not even his father, who would have been proud to see his son's excellent acting.

Smiling bitterly at the thought, Ryuu raised a foot to kick the nearest soccer ball. He never got a chance to continue his practice, because at that exact moment, a dark shape flew at him from the side. Catching sight of the shape from the corner of his eye, Ryuu quickly shifted position and jumped up to intercept the object with his chest. The same object turned out to be a soccer ball.

As it rolled across the dusty ground and finally came to a stop, Ryuu saw bold words written on it in sharpie. He bent down to inspect the ball, teal eyes widening in shock as he finished reading the message. Earlier that day, he had accidentally bumped into a fortuneteller by the side of the road. After Ryuu had apologized, the fortuneteller had told him something unexpected.

_"A soccer ball will lead you to competition today."_

* * *

_**Inazuma Ice. Inazuma, Japan.**_

There was the quiet scratching of pencil against paper among the loud laughter and chatter emanating from other parts of the store. A fifteen-year-old boy with dark red hair glanced up from his sketch pad every once in awhile to look at the sleeping boy sitting opposite him. His gold eyes picked out every minuscule detail and easily transferred what he saw to paper. By the time a man came around with their orders, he had completely finished drawing his companion. As the man walked away from their table, the red-haired boy gently poked his friend with the eraser of his pencil.

"Hey, wake up, Akira," he quietly murmured. When his dark gray-haired friend didn't move, he sighed and withdrew, leaning back in his seat. "Do I have to do this every time? Akira, if you don't wake up, I'm going to eat your food for you." Akira jolted awake before he even finished his sentence, eyes wide as he stared at his red-haired friend.

"What? Hiro, did you say something about food?" Akira's bright blue eyes were drawn to the chocolate ice cream in front of him. Squealing, the fifteen-year-old grabbed the nearest spoon and swiftly attacked his dessert. Shaking his head with a chuckle, his friend proceeded to eat his own ice cream.

Nishioka Hiro and Shibuya Akira were close friends whose fathers knew each other. Hiro's father was a famous painter while Akira's father was an art collector. The two men had met while visiting an art gallery, which started a longtime friendship between the two. Their sons had grown up together and also formed a good relationship themselves, although it hadn't always been that way.

The first time the two boys met was when a young Akira spilled his drink on an equally young Hiro's artwork while passing by in the local park. Hiro was, of course, devastated over the loss of his drawing and was angry enough to punch Akira in the face. Their fathers made them apologize to each other the next day, even going so far as to force them to play with each other.

That was when Akira introduced soccer to Hiro. He disliked the sport at first, but with a bit of encouragement from Akira, kept going until he found that he was enjoying himself. Soon soccer became almost as important to Hiro as drawing, and a friendship was started between he and Akira. There were times when he wondered how on earth he became friends with the usually sleepy and forever hungry boy, but they were still friends by the end of the day.

Their cellphones suddenly rang at the same time. Glancing at each other, the two boys took out their cellphones and opened them.

"Hey, did you get a text message just now?" Hiro asked with narrowed eyes. He was reading said text message.

"Yeah," Akira muttered. He had placed his cell phone on the table so he could read and eat his ice cream at the same time. "Says something about going to Raimon Junior High's auditorium, right? From someone named Kudou Michi-" He stopped, the spoon of ice cream he held in front of his mouth frozen in place. With wide eyes, he exchanged a look with Hiro.

"You don't think...?" he trailed off. Their fathers were supportive of them playing soccer and were almost always updating them on what was happening in the soccer world. Just that morning, they had mentioned something about a tournament. Hiro nodded.

"It's starting."

* * *

_**Monitor Room. xxx Building. Tokyo, Japan.**_

The room was shrouded in darkness, making it nearly impossible to see anything in it. The only source of light came from a flickering candle on a small table in the middle of the room. Hanging on the wall behind it was a flat screen TV with the power turned off. The remote to the electronic device sat on an otherwise empty office desk at the front of the room, where a swivel chair faced the wall instead of the desk.

Shadows danced from wall to wall, expanding and shrinking as quickly as they went. Music played from somewhere in the back. The faint melody of a gentle piano piece echoed throughout the room, filling it with an almost haunting sound. There was shuffling coming from the far corner of the room before all was still. A face could be seen through the gloom, dark eyes brimming with malice and lips outstretched in a grotesque smile.

"Everything is ready," the face's lips parted, revealing sharp and blindingly white teeth. There was more shuffling as the face moved forward a little, exposing pale skin and the skinny body it was connected to. It was a man, dressed in an expensive black suit with a deadly nightshade flower tucked into his suit pocket. Long, jet black hair had been tied back into a ponytail, reaching down to the middle of his back.

"I see," another voice spoke. It came from the front of the room, emanating from whoever sat behind the chair at the desk. Strong, weathered hands clutched the arm rests of the chair and were accompanied by the glinting steel of several rings that decorated the fingers. An expensive jewel had been embedded in each of the accessories.

"Is there anything else you would like me to do, Master?" the skinny man from before spoke again, addressing the person behind the chair once more. His spindly fingers reached up to adjust the flower he wore.

"No, that will be all... G," came the reply. The one called 'G' dipped his head in acknowledgement but did not move from where he stood, instead waiting. The other presence, the one he had called 'Master', suddenly gripped the arm rests of the chair they sat in. "All that is left to do now is to wait and see what happens before we make our move. Garshield was an incompetent fool who let his plans get foiled easily. But I am much more powerful than he ever was. Unlike him, my plans _will_ succeed."

"Yes, of course your plans will succeed, Master. I do not doubt you in the slightest," G smiled.

"Very good, as long as you understand. Since there is nothing left to be said, you may now leave," Master lifted a hand in dismissal.

"Then, if you will excuse me..." G bowed and swiftly straightened before making his way out of the room. There was a quiet creak as the door closed behind him, his footsteps soon fading away into the distance. Master was silent until the music playing in the room stopped.

"I do hope I will be entertained in the days to come."

* * *

_**Saturday, June 3. **__**7:41 AM. **_Front Entrance. Raimon Junior High. Inazuma, Japan.

They stood outside of the school gates, staring at the school they had graduated from together. Graduation day was still imprinted clearly in their minds. That day, most of Inazuma Japan had graduated with them. After playing a graduation soccer match, they had gathered together for a group hug. With tearful faces, they had all made a promise to play soccer together again someday. Each of them had had the FFI, or the mere possibility of a second one at that time, in mind when they made the promise.

But now it couldn't happen. Endou and most of the others were injured. They were unable to play in the FFI they had dreamed of playing together in. Their promise would have to wait. Sharing a determined look with Shirou, Azumi held his hand as they walked forward into the school grounds and made their way towards the auditorium.

It didn't matter that Endou and the others couldn't play. They were in their hearts, fighting right alongside them.

For the friends who could not make it, they would fight for them and more importantly, carry on their dreams and feelings. They could not afford to lose. Instead, they would win and take the title of world's best.

For their friends, they would keep moving forward.

The second FFI was right around the corner.


	3. Meeting

**_Disclaimer: _**I do not own Inazuma Eleven or Level-5. All I own are my OCs and their hissatsu techniques.

I've been watching Inazuma Eleven all over again lately. The Football Frontier International is probably my favorite arc, so it didn't come as a big surprise when I suddenly felt the desire to write some adventure/action/friendship type IE fanfiction. As a result, I decided to write the very story you're reading right now.

After re-watching episodes in the FFI arc, especially the first few, I was able to find some good sources of inspiration, enough to finally come up with the third chapter. I based most of the scenes in this chapter off of the flow of events in the anime, but changed a lot of the dialogue during the whole explanation of the FFI.

Enjoy reading _Tempest _and please consider submitting a review when you're done!

* * *

_Twenty-one boys. One girl. All in a single room. Each are a part of the best Japan has to offer in terms of soccer players. Yet tensions run high, for this meeting will determine more than if their dreams come true. It will determine their very fate in the world of soccer._

* * *

**_Saturday, June 3. 7:43 AM. Auditorium. Raimon Junior High. Inazuma, Japan._**

Most of them knew each other already.

After all, those who had gathered in Raimon Junior High's auditorium that morning were Japan's strongest soccer players. Except for a few of them, the majority of the group had come across one another at some point in their soccer-filled lives, whether it was through a friendly match or competition. In fact, most of them had met through the latest Soccer Frontier, which Raimon had won.

The tension in the room was thick, threatening to swallow the group of soccer players whole. Hostile glares were constantly thrown around the auditorium. Each of the boys either kept to themselves or stood in a corner of the room with their own group of intimate associates.

The largest group in the auditorium consisted of everyone who had been invited to the tryouts for the previous Football Frontier International, like Tachimukai or Kogure. The goalkeeper looked rather nervous, fidgeting as he spared quick glances at his surroundings. On the other hand, his companion was rather relaxed, not to mention as mischievous as ever. The gold-eyed prankster fell over in a fit of laughter as Kurimatsu yelped, suddenly noticing the cockroach that had attached itself to his leg. He tried to shake it off as he hopped around with wild eyes, only making Kogure laugh even harder.

In another part of the room, Arashi leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, looking bored. A yawn escaped his lips. Every now and then he would glare at whoever dared to look his way.

Sai was talking to Shiki, but the purple-haired boy wasn't listening in the slightest. He was too busy glaring back at Arashi, immediately deciding that he did not like the boy. Despite being ignored, Sai continued to ramble on with the hope that he would somehow be able to annoy Shiki. He eventually started to poke the boy in the arm as he talked, causing the other boy's eye to twitch a little. Shiki stopped glaring and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. He was trying to hold onto his temper for once, and unfortunately, he was struggling. Badly.

Standing a few feet away from him was Hiro, who was too busy drawing something on paper to pay any attention to the people in the room with him. He sketched furiously, his gold eyes brighter than usual as he worked to finish his near-completed drawing. Akira was curled up on the floor below him, fast asleep.

A laugh came from the other end of the room, belonging to Shou. The tanned boy was holding a conversation with his friend, trying all his new jokes on him. Aoi merely rolled his eyes at the majority of them, but a rare smile appeared on his face at the better ones. He would warily glance around the room from time to time.

Staring curiously at him was Hideki. The green-haired boy stood by himself near the entrance, observing anyone who he thought seemed interesting. Also by himself on the other side of the entrance was Takumi. A soccer ball was tucked under his right arm. Much like Arashi, the fourteen-year-old seemed a little bored, frowning slightly. His eyes would flicker towards the entrance doors every few seconds, as if he was waiting for someone to appear.

Sakuma was pulling on Kabeyama's arm, gritting his teeth as he tried to stop the boy from running off and using the bathroom. An amused Ryuu soon came up and politely introduced himself before offering help, earning a grateful smile from the cyan-haired boy. Standing not too far away from them were Genda, Mukata, Shadow, Kazuto, and Max, who appeared to be in the middle of an argument.

With the exception of the one who had called them there and a certain duo, nearly everyone who had been invited was present. Biting his lip, Tachimukai glanced at the clock. His nervousness was growing. Only twenty of them had gathered. There were still two others who had yet to join them, plus Coach Kudou, and he hoped they would all arrive soon. He didn't think he could stand being in the room for much longer.

Shiki also didn't think he could remain in the same room as Sai for another minute or so. His almost non-existent patience was running dangerously thin. Grinning at his tense expression, Sai pulled his hand back for a second before giving an extra hard jab with his finger. Shiki's eyes flew wide open in rage.

"That's it," Shiki growled. He raised a clenched fist to punch Sai, but before he could do anything, there was the sound of approaching footsteps. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked up with hopeful faces. Was it Kudou Michiya? All of them wanted the meeting to get started already. They held their breath as the double doors swung open.

* * *

She pushed open the doors with both hands, finally finding herself in the appointed meeting place.

What she did not expect to find, however, was a sea of disappointed expressions.

Blinking, both Azumi and Shirou stared back in surprise as the doors swung shut behind the two. A familiar boy with golden brown hair broke into a relieved smile at the sight of them.

"A-Azumi-san! Fubuki-san! You finally came," Tachimukai moved to greet them but was beaten to it by none other than Takumi. The excited boy rushed forward with shining eyes, looking like he might faint at any moment. His attention was only for Azumi and no one else. He ignored the temporarily stunned people behind him and even the gray-haired boy at her side.

"You're Izuna Azumi, right? Raimon Junior High's ace soccer player?" Takumi plunged on before Azumi had a chance to reply. He spoke quickly, his words nearly becoming a tangled mess in his hurry to get them out. "I'm Higa Takumi and I'm a big fan of yours! I've watched all your matches and I think your soccer skills are amazing! My favorite match was the Football Frontier finals where Raimon won with a score of 4 - 1. I really liked that feint you did near the end of the first half, and-"

"Shut up already, would you?" Arashi interrupted. All eyes turned to the boy in the back of the room. He was no longer leaning against the wall. Instead, he was standing straight and staring at Higa with an irritated frown. "No one wants to hear you go on and on about your dumb idol." Takumi bristled at the boy's words.

"Izuna-san is not dumb! You're the dumb one for not knowing just how good she is," Takumi shot back. He glowered at Arashi, smirking as the other boy narrowed his eyes. The two took a step toward each other, but before things could get violent, there was a cough from behind them.

"Let's try to get along, all right?" Azumi fixed Arashi with a hard stare, recalling his face from a memory of a match in the Football Frontier. He stared back defiantly. "Otherwise, I will ask both of you to leave the building. Coach Kudou may not be here yet, but I'm the supervisor until he arrives. I'd hate to send you two home before things even got started."

"Sorry," Takumi murmured with a bow. He rose and threw a meaningful glance over his shoulder at Arashi, but the older boy didn't move. His gaze was still locked with Azumi's. A moment passed before Arashi looked away, scowling. He said nothing but leaned against the wall like he had been doing earlier, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

The tense atmosphere in the room dissolved a little with the appearance of the final two members. Conversations were shortly resumed, but most of them were now centered on a new subject: Izuna Azumi. The last time anyone had checked, the Football Frontier International had a rule about only letting boys play. However, it seemed like that was no longer the case, seeing how there was a girl among them now. In fact, she was the only girl out of the twenty-two soccer players who had been invited. What did it mean?

Azumi and Shirou joined Tachimukai and the others, who welcomed them with wide smiles and cheers. They had been missed in the months they had been gone. Tachimukai moved aside to make room for the two in their large circle of acquaintances. He chose to say nothing about what had just happened and instead gave them a recap of what had happened while they were gone. They listened, nodding, and made idle talk with the rest of them. However, it was obvious that they were all waiting for something to happen. Then, at exactly 8:00, that 'something' happened.

All was silent as the doors swung open once more, and this time, the group of waiting soccer players were not disappointed. A man strode into the room with purposeful steps, heading towards the stage without a second glance at the kids who watched him.

It was the famous Kudou Michiya in the flesh.

The previously scattered group of soccer players moved closer together as Kudou took his place at the front of the auditorium. A few of them stayed back, reluctant to mingle with the others. Kudou's dark eyes surveyed the crowd of soccer players before him.

"Good. It appears that everyone is here. The meeting can finally begin," Kudou gave a curt nod. "I'm sure that all of you probably already know why you are here, but in case you do not, I will enlighten you. The second Football Frontier International is about to start, and all of you are candidates to become Japan's representative players, Neo Inazuma Japan." Those who had been a part of Inazuma Japan the previous year froze in place after hearing the new team name. It was bad enough just dealing with the knowledge that their teammates weren't able to play with them, but to have a reminder slapped directly in their faces was almost too much for them to handle.

"As you can see, however..." Kudou paused to gesture to the group in front of him. "There are twenty-two of you and only sixteen available positions. In other words, some of you will not be chosen. To determine whether or not you're capable of challenging the world, we have decided to hold a selection match tomorrow at two o'clock. You will be separated into two teams, each with their own captain, and play off against one another in a battle to show off your soccer prowess. Winning or losing does not matter in this game. Instead, you should focus on effectively presenting your abilities. Keep in mind that the use of combination techniques will be forbidden to observe your individual capabilities. Also, do not forget that I am the deciding factor in all of this. I will be watching your every move from the sideline."

Everyone was still, their full attention captured by the man standing in front of him. Each of them looked rather serious now, especially at the thought of not being chosen. None of them wanted to go home with broken dreams.

"Once your name, team, and position have been called, they cannot and will not change. It is no concern of mine if you have problems with any of your new teammates. But before I announce the teams and their members, there is a notification I must make," Kudou started to scan the crowd once more. "Earlier, I said that there were sixteen available positions, but I'm afraid I made a slight mistake." Azumi stared at him. Kudou had been her coach for an entire year, and she knew him well. He was a man who never made mistakes. What was he up to?

"As of now, there are only fifteen available positions. The first slot has already been claimed by someone, and that person, although they are a permanent member of Neo Inazuma Japan, will still be playing in the demonstration match to even out the teams," Kudou's eyes landed on a certain girl. "For those of you who pass, Izuna Azumi will be your captain for the duration of the FFI."

Shocked gasps rippled through the group at the news. Azumi herself was surprised for just a moment before her eyes narrowed. Shirou glanced back and forth from the violet-haired man to the girl beside him, worry written all over his face. Neither had been informed of such a decision.

"What's the meaning of this, Kudou-kantoku?" Azumi was careful in keeping her tone civil. "You never told me that I was already on the team."

"There was no need to," came the simple reply. Kudou turned his attention back to the other members. Shock, envy, and outrage were only a few of the emotions that flashed across their faces. "I hope no one has any problems with this. As an experiment of sorts, the FFI is allowing a single girl to play per team this year. I, personally, will vouch for Azumi's qualification as a member and captain of Neo Inazuma Japan. It is something that both I and Hibiki Seigou agreed upon."

No one moved. Another big shot's name had been mentioned. Hibiki Seigou was well-known for being one of Raimon Junior High's main soccer coaches. Two years ago, he had helped Raimon win the Football Frontier for the first time in forty years. Since then, he had let Kudou Michiya take over most of his coach duties due to needing time to recover his health, but his reputation hadn't wavered in the slightest. If Hibiki Seigou had made such a decision with Kudou Michiya, then it would have to go unopposed.

Azumi's eyes were still narrowed. She didn't know what Kudou was playing at, but let the matter slide for the time being, saying nothing as Kudou looked at her.

"Seeing as there are no objections, I will now call out teams," Kudou pulled a sheet of paper out from his pocket and unfolded it, beginning to read the words written on it.

"Team A for the representative match: Genda Koujirou as goalkeeper. Defenders are Shibuya Akira, Himura Aoi, Kabeyama Heigorou, and Kurimatsu Teppei. Midfielders include Raijin Arashi, Higa Takumi, Sakuma Jirou, and Megane Kazuto. Okamura Shiki, forward. Izuna Azumi, forward and captain."

"Team B for the representative match: Goalkeeper is Tachimukai Yuuki. Kogure Yuuya, Tachibana Ryuu, Nishioka Hiro, and Teruya Hideki are all defenders. Akiyama Shou, midfielder. Matsuno Kuusuke, midfielder. Kurosawa Sai, midfielder and captain. Mukata Masaru, midfielder. Forwards are Fubuki Shirou and Yamino Kageto."

Folding the paper up again, Kudou looked out towards the dismayed faces that met his eyes, ignoring them as he spoke, "Remember, the demonstration match is tomorrow at two on the soccer field outside, and nothing good will come out of showing up late. It would be wise to appropriately use the one day given to you as practice time before the match." With that, the violet-haired man turned on his heel and left through the back entrance.

The meeting was adjourned. Everyone in the room began to branch off into their respective teams so they could start practicing like Kudou had suggested, but not without a few quiet complaints about who they were teamed up with.

"We're on different teams," Shirou frowned, slightly disappointed to not be with his girlfriend. "Kudou-kantoku is up to something too. I don't think he made you a permanent member for nothing, Azumi."

"Yes, there has to be a reason..." Azumi trailed off and sighed, shaking her head. She was starting to get a headache from thinking about matters too much. Offering a weak smile to Shirou, she nodded in the direction of Team B. "I don't even want to think about it anymore. Whatever he has planned, I'm guessing that it's for the best. At any rate, we should probably go our separate ways to practice. I want my team and I to be prepared for tomorrow's match."

"All right," Shirou moved to join his team, but then paused, looking back at Azumi with a competitive smirk. "Just so you know, winning might not matter in this game, but I still don't plan on losing. We may be on separate teams, but that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Azumi cocked her hip, placing a hand on it with her own grin. Her eyes glinted with excitement for the upcoming match. "I don't plan on losing either." As the two went their own ways, Shirou moving towards Team B and Azumi to Team A, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly after seeing Arashi, Takumi, and Shiki glaring at each other. She said she wouldn't lose, but with those three on the team, it made winning a lot more difficult. Teamwork was nearly always the key to most soccer matches. Sighing again, she suddenly caught sight of two faces on either side of the room, faces that belonged to friends who should have been in America.

She blinked in surprise, then felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

_Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all._

* * *

**_Sunday, June 4. 1:40 PM. Soccer Field. Raimon Junior High. Inazuma, Japan._**

It was finally the day of the highly anticipated representative match. Practice had gone relatively well for both teams the day before, and any arguments had been stifled as quickly as they had started by the captains. Team A wore the official uniform - white shorts with a red shirt and yellow stripes around the sleeves - while Team B wore the exact reverse. The two teams did simple warm-ups and stretching for the next fifteen minutes until their captains called them back for a team meeting.

"Remember, what's important in this match is showing off your skills to Kudou-kantoku, not to mention displaying the ability to cooperate with your teammates," Azumi stared pointedly at Shiki, Arashi, and Takumi, all three of them shrugging as they looked away from her intense gaze. "At any rate, this will be a rather close match. You may have already noticed that pairs of friends have been split up and put onto different teams. Meaning, Kudou-kantoku intentionally made these teams so that either team could end up winning the game."

"But winning doesn't matter, right?" Akira piped up sleepily, his eyelids almost entirely closed.

"Right," Azumi smiled at him, glad that at least _someone _was unconcerned about brutally defeating the other team. Arashi, on the other hand, seemed to beg differ on the whole winning matter, folding his arms over his chest with narrowed eyes but saying nothing.

"The last thing everyone needs to remember is to have fun," Azumi continued, lifting up a finger before anyone could protest. "Yes, I know that this is an important match, but the best way to play soccer is to feel relaxed and have fun. Otherwise, mistakes will be made because you're too nervous and tense."

"I definitely agree!" Takumi nodded his head vigorously. Several of the others quietly voiced their agreement as well.

"Then let's go out there and play," Azumi jerked her head in the direction of the field. A boy's single stormy gray eye followed her line of sight, flashing with a rare intensity.

It was time to see who deserved to be called one of Japan's representatives.

* * *

**_Sunday, June 4. 2:00 PM. Soccer Field. Raimon Junior High. Inazuma, Japan._**

Friend versus friend, foe versus foe. It was no different for Aoi as he stared at his friend on the other side of the field. Shou noticed him staring and gave a thumbs-up, grinning. Aoi could just barely make out what his friend was silently mouthing to him: _"Have you caught up with her yet?" _Nodding swiftly, Aoi turned his attention to the girl in question.

Izuna Azumi, Himura Aoi, and Akiyama Shou were all friends who had met in America a few years ago. Then, one by one, each of them had moved back to their native country, Japan. It had come as a surprise to all of them when, after the meeting on Saturday, they had seen each other again. Aoi considered the girl a friend more than anything, but for Shou, he saw her as both a friend and his greatest rival. She was the only one who had ever beaten him in a running race.

The referee decided to come over at that moment. Aoi watched with bated breath like the rest of the two teams as the captains came up, shook hands, and then called out heads or tails. Team A won the call, and as the captains returned to their sides of the fields, all twenty-two players got into position.

"The long-awaited representative match is about to begin! This match will decide who gets to represent Japan for the second Football Frontier International," Kakuma Keita, Raimon's official commentator, cried. The hundreds of people crowded into the stands on either side of the soccer field kept their eyes glued on it, growing more and more restless as the seconds went by. "In this match, the famous Izuna Azumi leads Team A against Kurosawa Sai's Team B! Who among these teams will win a position as a national player?"

Azumi and Shiki, the forwards for their team, stood together, waiting silently for the signal to start the kick-off. While Azumi gazed calmly ahead, Shiki glared at the opposite team's smirking captain. Behind them, Takumi, Arashi, Sakuma, and Kazuto faced the front with tense expressions, their eyes on the soccer ball. The defenders, which were Aoi, Akira, Kabeyama, and Kurimatsu, were doing their best to loosen up before the match started.

Kabeyama was trembling slightly, and beside him, Kurimatsu was wiping his sweaty hands against his shorts. Aoi, Akira, and Genda, the goalkeeper behind them, were among the few who seemed unaffected. Aoi stood as still as a statue, his one visible eye observing the field with indifference, much like Genda was doing. Akira was half-sleeping, trying not to doze off completely.

Like Team A, Team B was anxiously waiting for the game to start. Shirou smiled at Azumi from his position as forward. The other forward, Shadow, was frowning as his dark eyes swept over Team A's players. Their team's captain, Sai, was busy having a staring competition with Shiki, while Shou, one of their midfielders, waved at his friends on the other side of the field. Max and Mukata were whispering something to each other. Kogure, Ryuu, Hiro, and Hideki all looked perfectly fine, seemingly unaffected by the impending match. Tachimukai, as usual, wore a nervous expression as he waited with outstretched hands.

After what seemed like an eternity, the whistle finally blew.


End file.
